jfmjr

I bought my 2002 SC430 approximately 22k miles ago and it appeared to have new Kuhmo run flat tires installed. Last weekend the right rear had a catastrophic blowout that separated the tread from the inside facing sidewall. When the car was put on the lift to change the tires, all four tires were worn to the metal belts along the inner facing area of the tread. By looking at the car on the ground, the tread appears to have a lot of life left. I replaced all four with standard (vs Runflat) and had an alignment performed. The tech said the alingment was near perfect and needed very little adjustment. IS THIS NORMAL? This was an accident waiting to happen if more than one tire blew. Any ideas why this occured?

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

are you lowered?

we need pictures of the tire damage and your car for a better visuals

jfmjr

I wish I had taken photos. The car is bone stock with approximately 108,00miles. In an attempt to be more specific, all four tires were worn within the first 1/3 of the tread at the interface of the tread and sidewall being worst and the site of the burst. right rear burst but left rear was not as bad. The front two tires were nearly as bad as the right rear. By looking at the car sitting in the driveway the tires had not visible damage. In fact, I had a hard time finding the leak at first until i felt the inside face of the tire which was showing metal. The 2" of the inside tread were the most affected areas of all four. It was strange they all had similar wear and yet this could not have occured within the past 3,000 miles since the last time it was on the mechanics lift and the tires were rotated. the contrast from the visible tread and the inner 1/3 of the tire was very dramatic.

Yes

It's probably camber wear. The wheels are slightly tilting, causing premature wear on the inside part of the tires. An alignment shop or your dealership can adjust the camber to get is as close to neutral as possible, but there still might be some excess wear.

hlthlnk

just had my tires replaced also because of 3 of the tires going bald on the inside. I ordered my tires and took the car to a local small shop with some high tech equipment. The shop owner is long time car enthusiast. So below is a look at my alignment before and after with a 4 wheel camber adjustment. No wonder the car was also shaking so much

VVTiBob

Unfortunately camber is a well documented problem with our cars. Strick rotation and alignment checks are very necessary. Your wear does sound excessive...having the suspension thoroughly inspected for wear would be a smart course of action. This includes the bushings known for issues involving usual wear.

VVTiBob

See this thread Alignment issues and more specifically post #9 in the thread for a link to a layman's explanation.

A1Lexis

iTrader: (6)

Alignment alone may not be the culprit. Like Bob said, with the age and mileage of your SC, have a qualified professional inspect the ball joints, struts, bushings, camber etc... Any of those maybe the problem. Glad to hear you were OK.

ser67

In the UK we get a lot of 'sleeping policemen' which are large humps (in built-up or rural areas )in the road that prevent cars travelling fast.

The width of these humps is slightly shorter than the width of the average car - so most drivers here will straddle their wheels either side of the hump.

The unfortunate side-effect of this is a large increase in premature wear on the inside of all four tyres (tires) for many inner-city drivers here.

The secret is to deliberately put one side of the car in the middle of the hump and slow down - may look silly as you ride the full height - but you'll avoid unusual wear that way.

This may be a UK only thing - but interesting to hear if there is similar in the US and if so have you also had increase across the board on inner tyre wear ?

jfmjr

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I will have the car on the lift by the weekend. Anyone have input on what to do for shock/strut replacement? Keep them stock or go aftermarket? open to suggestions if anyone cares to chime in.

Gutz13

I also had tires that had excessive wear on the inside of the tread. I have an 06 with only 30,000 miles. Had to replace all 4 tires.

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

up to you, if you wanna lower it, then go aftermarket, otherwise keep it at OEM.

that is a whole nother discussion within itself though.

Yes

Coilovers will improve the handling quite a bit. But they're also quite a bit more expensive.